Field of Invention
[0001] The field of the invention relates to a method and system for managing a wireless
passive optical network. Particular embodiments relate to a method for managing a
wireless passive optical network comprising a plurality of access points and a plurality
of customer premises equipments.
Background
[0002] Wireless passive optical networks (WPON) serve to provide last-mile connectivity
using wireless technologies operating at 60 GHz. Proper operation in the 60 GHz domain
depends on beamforming gains of the WPON access point (AP) and/or the WPON customer
premises equipment (CPE).
[0003] The use of highly directional beams and the propagation characteristics of mm-wave
frequencies creates the risk of generating interference towards neighbouring APs and/or
CPEs in dense deployments. The highly directional beams as defined in the corresponding
beamforming codebook of one AP or CPE may accidentally interfere the reception of
another AP or CPE. In existing WPON solutions APs and/or CPEs work as independent
operators which are set up from factory and remain static while deployed.
[0004] As an example, the 802.11ad equipment, which may be used to construct a WPON, typically
has a limited number of available beams and corresponding beamforming codebook entries,
and they are configured to uniformly cover the 3D space or part of it using a discrete
Fourier transform approach. More in particular the 802.11ad equipment considered here
typically only has 64 codebook entries uniformly distributed in elevation and azimuth.
When multiple of such equipments are deployed in the vicinity of each other, interference
problems are to be expected. A large range of interference-avoiding solutions have
been proposed which make use of a central scheduler to allocate interfering on different
slots in frequency and time.
Summary
[0005] The object of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a method and a system
for managing a WPON which provides better performance as compared to prior art solutions.
More in particular, the object of embodiments of the present invention is to provide
a method and system for managing a WPON which reduces interference at the APs and/or
CPEs of the WPON. In addition it is the object of embodiments to provide a method
and system for managing a WPON which offers good performance in dynamic scenarios
wherein multiple APs and/or CPEs are present and wherein new APs and/or CPEs may be
added.
[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for
managing a wireless passive optical network (WPON) comprising a plurality of access
points (Aps) and a plurality of customer premises equipments (CPEs). The method comprises
configuring an AP to CPE association based on a load balancing algorithm such that
each CPE of the plurality of CPEs is associated with at least one AP of the plurality
of APs. The method further comprises configuring, for each AP of the plurality of
APs, an AP beamforming codebook based on the configured association, wherein the AP
beamforming codebook comprises entries wherein each entry is representative for a
beam pattern to be transmitted by said AP, and wherein the AP beamforming codebook
comprises for each CPE associated with the respective AP:
a line of sight (LoS) entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a LoS path between the AP and the respective CPE; and
at least one back-up entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a back-up path which is different from the LoS path.
[0007] Embodiments of the present invention are based
inter alia on the insight that by on the one hand configuring an AP to CPE association based
on a load balancing algorithm such that each CPE is associated with at least one AP,
and on the other hand configuring for each AP an AP beamforming codebook based on
the configured association, it is possible to optimise the AP beamforming codebook
entries for any particular scenario or WPON environment. Moreover, by configuring
the AP beamforming codebook to comprise at least one back-up entry representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a back-up path different
from the LoS path, it is possible for the AP to quickly adapt its transmission when
the LoS path is blocked, e.g. due to a moving and/or blocking object. In this manner
interference in the WPON is reduced and performance is increased.
[0008] In an embodiment the at least one back-up entry comprises a reflection entry representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a reflected path. In
this manner, the AP can efficiently change from a LoS transmission according to a
LoS entry of the AP beamforming codebook to a reflected transmission according to
a reflection entry of the AP beamforming codebook. This may be useful in a situation
wherein the LoS path may be blocked and does not provide the required throughput.
In such a situation it may be beneficial to quickly switch to transmitting along a
reflected path, whereas in other circumstances the LoS path may be preferred.
[0009] In an embodiment the at least one back-up entry comprises a relay entry representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a relay path wherein
at least one CPE of the plurality of CPEs other than the respective CPEs is used as
a relay. Alternatively or in addition at least one AP of the plurality of APs other
than the AP which is to transmit the beam pattern may be used as a relay in the relay
path. In this manner, the AP can efficiently change from a LoS transmission according
to a LoS entry of the AP beamforming codebook to a relay transmission according to
a relay entry of the AP beamforming codebook. This may be useful in a situation wherein
the LoS path may be blocked and does not provide the required throughput. In such
a situation it may be beneficial to quickly switch to transmitting along a relay path
wherein at least one other AP and/or CPE is used as a relay node, whereas in other
circumstances the LoS path may be preferred.
[0010] In an embodiment the method further comprises scanning the WPON for changes in AP
and/or CPE configuration, and triggering the configuring of the AP to CPE association
when an AP is added and/or removed from the WPON and/or when a CPE is added and/or
removed from the WPON. In this manner, the method allows for an auto-configuration
and self-organisation of the APs and/or CPEs in the WPON. When an AP or CPE is added
to an existing WPON the configuration of the existing WPON may not be optimal to maintain
in view of the added AP or CPE. However, by monitoring changes in the AP and/or CPE
configuration of the WPON and configuring the AP to CPE association when such an added
AP and/or CPE is detected, it is possible to achieve an optimal AP to CPE association
according to a load balancing algorithm, taking into account the APs and CPEs which
were already part of the WPON and the added AP and/or CPE.
[0011] In an embodiment configuring the AP to CPE association is performed periodically.
In this manner, the method allows for an auto-configuration and self-organisation
of the APs and/or CPEs in the WPON. An existing WPON configuration may become suboptimal
over time, for example by addition or removal of an AP or CPE, or by transmission
paths getting blocked by for example new buildings. However, by periodically triggering
the configuring of the AP to CPE association, it is possible to achieve an optimal
AP to CPE association according to a load balancing algorithm, taking into account
changes in the WPON which may have occurred over time, e.g. addition or removal of
AP or CPE, transmission paths getting blocked, etc.
[0012] In an embodiment the method further comprises configuring, for at least one CPE of
the plurality of CPEs, a CPE beamforming codebook based on the configured association,
wherein the CPE beamforming codebook comprises entries wherein each entry is representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said CPE. In addition to configuring the AP
beamforming codebook, configuring the CPE beamforming codebook allows for even better
performance in the WPON because this allows for a more accurate beam alignment. An
AP in the WPON can transmit to other APs or CPEs and receive from other APs or CPEs
in the WPON. In a similar manner, a CPE in the WPON can transmit to other APs or CPEs
and receive from other APs or CPEs in the WPON. Due to the challenging 60GHz channel,
where attenuation is large due to oxygen absorption, beam alignment is key to combat
the large path loss. Therefore, by configuring a CPE beamforming codebook based on
the configured association in addition to the configuration of AP beamforming codebooks,
both the antenna gain of AP and the antenna gain of CPE may be aligned. In this manner,
both the AP(s) and CPE(s) can be configured to have optimal beams pointing towards
each other and/or overlapping with each other.
[0013] In a similar manner as described for the AP beamforming codebook the CPE beamforming
codebook comprises line of sight (LoS) entries and back-up entries.
[0014] In an embodiment configuring the AP to CPE association comprises any one of de-associating
a CPE from an AP, re-associating a CPE to an AP, associating a CPE to an AP, or any
combination thereof. In this manner an optimal AP to CPE association according to
a load balancing algorithm may be achieved. Associating a CPE to an AP corresponds
with associating a CPE to an AP for the first time, for example during initial set-up
of the WPON or when a new CPE and/or AP is added to an existing WPON. De-associating
a CPE from an AP removes a previously associated CPE from the AP and may free up AP
beamforming codebook capacity. Re-associating a CPE to an AP may associate a CPE to
an AP which is currently not associated to the AP but which in the past has been associated
to the AP.
[0015] In an embodiment configuring the AP beamforming codebook comprises associating with
each entry for a CPE an identifier of the respective CPE. In this manner, AP beamforming
codebook entry selection is facilitated prior to data transmission. The AP can associate
an identifier of the respective CPE, e.g. MAC address, to the AP beamforming codebook
entries and only search the according entries when a particular CPE is selected for
scheduling.
[0016] In an embodiment configuring the AP beamforming codebook comprises configuring multiple
AP codebooks per AP, wherein each AP codebook corresponds with a subset of CPEs from
the plurality of CPEs, preferably with a single CPE from the plurality of CPEs. This
is beneficial in particular when beamforming codebook size is limited. This allows
the AP to pull the required codebook according to a CPE scheduling decision. Preferably,
each AP has one AP beamforming codebook per CPE.
[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless
passive optical network (WPON) managing system for managing a WPON comprising a plurality
of access points, (APs) and a plurality of customer premises equipments (CPEs), wherein
the managing system comprises a controller configured to:
configure an AP to CPE association based on a load balancing algorithm such that each
CPE of the plurality of CPEs is associated with at least one AP of the plurality of
APs; and
configure for each AP of the plurality of APs an AP beamforming codebook based on
the configured association, wherein the AP beamforming codebook comprises entries
wherein each entry is representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said
AP, such that the AP beamforming codebook comprises for each CPE associated with the
respective AP:
a line of sight (LoS) entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a LoS path between the AP and the respective CPE; and
at least one back-up entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a back-up path which is different from the LoS path.
[0018] It will be understood by the skilled person that the features and advantages disclosed
hereinabove with respect to various embodiments of the method embodiments may also
apply,
mutatis mutandis, to various system embodiments.
[0019] In an embodiment the at least one back-up entry comprises a reflection entry representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a reflected path.
[0020] In an embodiment the at least one back-up entry comprises a relay entry representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a relay path wherein
at least one CPE of the plurality of CPEs other than the respective CPE and/or at
least one AP of the plurality of APs other than the respective AP is used as a relay.
[0021] In an embodiment the controller is configured to scan the WPON for changes in AP
and/or CPE configuration; and to trigger the configuring of the AP to CPE association
when an AP is added and/or removed from the WPON and/or when a CPE is added and/or
removed from the WPON.
[0022] In an embodiment the controller is configured to periodically configure the AP to
CPE association.
[0023] In an embodiment the controller is configured to configure, for at least one CPE
of the plurality of CPEs, a CPE beamforming codebook based on the configured association,
wherein the CPE beamforming codebook comprises entries wherein each entry is representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said CPE.
[0024] In an embodiment the controller is configured to configure the AP to CPE association
by any one of de-associating a CPE from an AP, re-associating a CPE to an AP, associating
a CPE to an AP, or any combination thereof.
[0025] In an embodiment the controller is configured to associate with each entry for a
CPE an identifier of the respective CPE while configuring the AP beamforming codebook.
[0026] In an embodiment the controller is configured to configure multiple AP codebooks
per AP, wherein each AP codebook corresponds with a subset of CPEs from the plurality
of CPEs, preferably with a single CPE from the plurality of CPEs.
[0027] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital
storage medium encoding a computer-executable program of instructions to perform,
when executed on a computer, the steps of the method of any one of the method embodiments
described above.
[0028] It will be understood by the skilled person that the features and advantages disclosed
hereinabove with respect to method and/or system embodiments may also apply,
mutatis mutandis, to embodiments of the computer program product.
[0029] Further aspects of the present invention are described by the dependent claims. The
features from the dependent claims, features of any of the independent claims and
any features of other dependent claims may be combined as considered appropriate to
the person of ordinary skill in the art, and not only in the particular combinations
as defined by the claims.
Brief description of the figures
[0030] The accompanying drawings are used to illustrate presently preferred non-limiting
exemplary embodiments of devices of the present invention. The above and other advantages
of the features and objects of the present invention will become more apparent and
the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description
when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a wireless passive optical network;
Figure 2 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for managing
a wireless passive optical network;
Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flowchart of an alternative embodiment of a method
for managing a wireless passive optical network;
Figure 4 schematically illustrates a flowchart of a further embodiment of a method
for managing a wireless passive optical network; and
Figures 5 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a wireless passive optical network
managing system.
Description of embodiments
[0031] Wireless passive optical networks (WPONs) are developed which aim at providing last-mile
connectivity, using wireless technologies operating at 60 GHz. In order to make such
a deployment cost-effective, the WPON access point (AP) and customer pemises equipment
(CPE) should be easy to deploy and be capable of auto-configuration and self-organization
to adapt the operation thereof to the dynamic challenging environment where it is
deployed, e.g. new APs and CPEs deployed in the vicinity in an ad-hoc manner, without
network planning, while optimising system performance. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary
embodiment of such a WPON comprising a plurality of APs and a plurality of CPEs.
[0032] In this light, and because proper operation in the 60GHz highly depends on beamforming
gains, it is important that the available beams or beamforming codebook entries at
the APs and preferably also at the CPEs are optimised for the particular scenario
in which the respective node is working. A static beamforming codebook which is set
up from factory typically results in a suboptimal operation and dissatisfactory performance.
[0033] The use of highly directional beams and the propagation characteristics of mm-wave
frequencies make likely the generating interference towards neighbouring nodes (APs
and/or CPEs) in dense deployments. The highly directional beams of one AP or CPE may
accidentally interfere the reception of another AP or CPE. Current WPON solutions
are found to be suboptimal due to the lack of intelligence and adaptability to the
respective working scenario or environment. In other words, prior art APs mostly work
as independent boxes which makes that this interference issue is a significant concern.
[0034] Hereby a method and a system are proposed to realise, on the one hand, an improved
AP to CPE association, which is adapted to the particular deployment scenario or environment,
and, on the other hand, a (re)configurable beam definition or beamforming codebook
design to mitigate such interference and optimise system performance.
[0035] This (re)configurability is particularly beneficial in dynamic scenarios where many
APs and CPEs are already deployed, and new ones are continuously added. As a result
of the changing scenario, there is an on-demand need to (re-)adapt both the AP to
CPE association as well as the AP beamforming codebook to maximise network performance.
Note that human intervention is not an option.
[0036] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for managing a WPON
as illustrated in Figure 1. The method 100 comprises a first step 110 of configuring
an AP to CPE association based on a load balancing algorithm such that each CPE of
the plurality of CPEs is associated with at least one AP of the plurality of APs.
Configuring of the AP to CPE association may be performed by a controller which is
a logical entity which may be located in a physical central controller or in any one
of the APs or CPEs of the WPON. The configuring 110 of the AP to CPE association may
be triggered when a new AP and/or CPE has been deployed in the neighbourhood or environment.
This is illustrated in the embodiment of Figure 3 which comprises an initial step
102 of scanning the WPON for changes in AP and/or CPE configuration and a step 104
of triggering the configuring of the AP to CPE association when an AP is added and/or
removed from the WPON and/or when a CPE is added and/or removed from the WPON. When
no added CPE or AP is detected, no action 105 needs to be taken. The illustrated embodiment
of Figure 3 may be particularly beneficial in a dynamic scenario with many APs and
CPEs wherein new APs and/or CPEs are continuously deployed. This requires a need to
re-optimise both the AP to CPE association as well as the AP beamforming codebook(s)
and/or the CPE beamforming codebook(s) to maximise performance. For simplicity and
without loss of generality, it is assumed that the APs and CPEs are substantially
static, that there is always a LoS path between a pair of associated APs and CPEs,
and that a central controller can act in any relevant cluster of nodes.
[0037] Changes in AP and/or CPE configuration may be detected when the added AP or CPE self-integrate
in the WPON and requires an internet protocol (IP) address. It is however clear to
the skilled person that any auto-configuration information other than an IP address
may be used. For example radio frequency measures cam be done to detect whether the
neighbourhood has changed in comparison with previous measurements or signatures.
[0038] Alternatively, or in addition to the scanning step 102, the configuring 110 of the
AP to CPE association may be triggered on a periodic basis.
[0039] The step 110 of configuring the AP to CPE association may comprise (re)computing
the best possible AP to CPE association to ripe load balancing gains. A load balancing
algorithm will be used. A possible embodiment would be to map APs to CPEs based on
receive signal strength measurements and/or a balanced CPE headcount across all the
APs. For example, in a scenario wherein there are three APs and thirty CPEs, it may
be beneficial to have ten CPEs per AP. It is clear to the skilled person that this
number may vary depending on the measured receive signal strengths or any other relevant
parameters. In a preferred embodiment, load balancing is done according to the amount
of traffic in the WPON rather than according to a mere headcount.
[0040] Step 110 of configuring the AP to CPE association may comprise re-association or
de-association wherein de-association removes the CPE as a possible mesh hop, or frees
up beamforming codebook capacity at the AP.
[0041] The embodiment of Figures 2, 3 and 4 further comprise step 120 of configuring for
each AP of the plurality of APs an AP beamforming codebook based on the configured
CPE to AP association. The AP beamforming codebook comprises entries wherein each
entry is representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said AP, and wherein
the AP beamforming codebook comprises for each CPE associated with the respective
AP a line of sight, LoS, entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted
to the respective CPE via a LoS path between the AP and the respective CPE, and at
least one back-up entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the
respective CPE via a back-up path which is different from the LoS path. The at least
one back-up entry may comprise any one of a reflection entry representative for a
beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a reflected path, and a relay
entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via
a relay path wherein at least one CPE of the plurality of CPEs other than the respective
CPEs is used as a relay. In other words, the AP beamforming codebook entries may be
divided into two or three subsets: i) entries to transmit of the LoS path between
the AP and each CPE; ii) back-up entries to transmit over a reflected path between
the AP and each CPE; and iii) back-up entries to transmit over at least one relay
node (AP and/or CPE). The back-up entries may be used for fast adaptation when the
LoS path is blocked, e.g. due to a moving object. Different entries may also have
associated therewith a different transmit power. Assuming in an example that an AP
beamforming codebook has room for 64 entries and wherein ten CPEs are associated with
the AP, ten AP beamforming codebook entries may be used for the respective LoS paths
between the AP and each associated CPE, and the remaining 54 entries may be used for
back-up entries such as reflection entries and/or relay entries, i.e. five back-up
entries reserved for each associated CPE.
[0042] A reflected entry may correspond with a non-LoS entry and a relay entry may correspond
with a mesh back-up entry, wherein a neighbouring CPE is used as a relay which is
different from a pure non-LoS path. The mesh back-up path or route may be used for
best-effort traffic improvement, and may provide better throughput in comparison with
a non-LoS or reflected path.
[0043] Preferably the beamforming codebook(s) is/are optimized on a per-network basis, i.e.
prioritizing links, etc.
[0044] Beamforming codebook entries may comprise any one of, or a combination of entries
for:
- a LoS path in order to optimize directive gain;
- n times non-LoS backup paths;
- m times mesh backup paths;
- a LoS path in order to optimize for clean transmission based on for example a sum-noise
criterion;
- k times LoS path in order to optimize for clean transmission towards k neighboring
links.
[0045] In an embodiment the load balancing algorithm during step 110 of configuring the
CPE to AP association takes into account the number of available AP beamforming codebook
entries per CPE. When considering different traffic per CPE and optimising the load
balancing according to such traffic load, some APs may get much more CPEs than others.
As a result, APs with many CPEs may quickly run out of available beamforming codebook
entries for some CPEs, and thus a different load balancing algorithm to configure
the CPE to AP association may be beneficial. In an exemplary embodiment to derive
an optimal CPE to AP association, the minimum achievable throughput is maximized,
considering the protection or back-up transmission paths provided by the back-up entries
of the beamforming codebook. The skilled person is aware of theoretical capacity computations
to achieve this. This can for example be performed via a machine learning algorithm
where different CPE to AP associations are tried and a reward is given to the good
ones.
[0046] Once the beamforming codebooks are configured, it is important to select the preferred
beamforming codebook entry to use for transmission. This preferred entry is usually
the LoS entry as it provides the strongest signal and the shortest delay. However,
the LoS transmission path may be obstructed. In such a case, an optimisation problem
targeted at maximising the user achievable throughput needs to be solved to identify
the preferred (back-up) beamforming codebook entry. This achievable throughput should
consider the signal quality provided by such a (back-up) beamforming codebook entry,
and preferably as well as the delay. Typically a relay transmission path corresponding
with a relay entry incurs longer delays as it involves a multi-hop communication,
but depending on the environment and/or deployment a relay entry may be preferred.
The skilled person is aware of theoretical capacity computations to solve such optimisation
problems. This can also be done via a machine learning algorithm where different beamforming
codebook entries are tried and a reward is given to the good ones.
[0047] To facilitate the selection of the correct beamforming codebook entry, the AP can
associate an identifier such as the MAC address of the CPE to its corresponding beamforming
codebook entries, and then only search the respective entries belonging to a particular
CPE when said particular CPE is selected.
[0048] Especially in cases when available entries of a beamforming codebook are limited,
it is proposed to create multiple beamforming codebooks such that an optimised beamforming
codebook is provided per subset of CPEs or even per individual CPE. Then, the AP is
able to pull at each moment in time the required beamforming codebook according to
the CPE scheduling decision. This would result in more beamforming codebook entries
per CPE at the expense of memory at the AP in order to keep a larger number of beamforming
codebooks, or a fast connection to a central controller to retrieve the right beamforming
codebook.
[0049] In addition to configuring the AP beamforming codebook entries, also entries of the
CPE beamforming codebook may be configured during step 130 as illustrated in Figure
4. The CPE beamforming codebook typically has lots of space for backup entries, given
the CPE typically sees maximum 5-10 APs in a typical WPON deployment. An AP in the
WPON can transmit to other APs or CPEs and receive from other APs or CPEs in the WPON.
In a similar manner, a CPE in the WPON can transmit to other APs or CPEs and receive
from other APs or CPEs in the WPON. Due to the challenging 60GHz channel, where attenuation
is large due to oxygen absorption, beam alignment is key to combat the large path
loss. Therefore, by configuring a CPE beamforming codebook based on the configured
association in addition to the configuration of AP beamforming codebooks, both the
antenna gain of AP and the antenna gain of CPE may be aligned. In this manner, both
the AP(s) and CPE(s) can be configured to have optimal beams pointing towards each
other and/or overlapping with each other.
[0050] In a similar manner as described for the AP beamforming codebook the CPE beamforming
codebook comprises line of sight (LoS) entries and back-up entries.
[0051] It is clear to the skilled person that the amount of CPEs associated with an AP may
change depending on the actual WPON deployment. It will be understood by the skilled
person that the features and advantages disclosed hereinabove with respect to embodiments
regarding AP beamforming codebooks may also apply,
mutatis mutandis, to embodiments regarding CPE beamforming codebooks.
[0052] Figure 5 schematically illustrates a WPON managing system for managing a WPON comprising
a plurality of APs 520 and a plurality of CPEs 530, wherein the managing system comprises
a controller 510 which is configured to configure an AP to CPE association based on
a load balancing algorithm such that each CPE of the plurality of CPEs is associated
with at least one AP of the plurality of APs. The controller is further configured
to configure for each AP of the plurality of APs an AP beamforming codebook based
on the configured association, wherein the AP beamforming codebook comprises entries
wherein each entry is representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said
AP. The AP beamforming codebook comprises for each CPE associated with the respective
AP a line of sight, LoS, entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted
to the respective CPE via a LoS path between the AP and the respective CPE, and at
least one back-up entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the
respective CPE via a back-up path which is different from the LoS path.
[0053] The at least one back-up entry may comprise a reflection entry representative for
a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a reflected path. Alternatively,
or in addition the at least one back-up entry may comprise a relay entry representative
for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via a relay path wherein
at least one CPE of the plurality of CPEs other than the respective CPEs is used as
a relay.
[0054] In an embodiment the controller 510 is configured to scan the WPON for changes in
AP 520 and/or CPE 530 configuration, and to trigger the configuring of the AP to CPE
association when an AP 520 is added and/or removed from the WPON and/or when a CPE
530 is added and/or removed from the WPON.
[0055] In addition or alternatively, the controller 510 may be configured to periodically
configure the AP to CPE association.
[0056] The controller 510 may be a logical entity which is located in a physical central
controller or in any one of the APs 520 or CPEs 530 of the WPON
[0057] A person of skill in the art would readily recognize that steps of various above-described
methods can be performed by programmed computers. Herein, some embodiments are also
intended to cover program storage devices, e.g., digital data storage media, which
are machine or computer readable and encode machine-executable or computer-executable
programs of instructions, wherein said instructions perform some or all of the steps
of said above-described methods. The program storage devices may be, e.g., digital
memories, magnetic storage media such as a magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard
drives, or optically readable digital data storage media. The program storage devices
may be resident program storage devices or may be removable program storage devices,
such as smart cards. The embodiments are also intended to cover computers programmed
to perform said steps of the above-described methods.
[0058] The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the present invention.
It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various
arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles
of the present invention and are included within its scope. Furthermore, all examples
recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes
to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present invention and the
concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed
as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.
Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the
present invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass
equivalents thereof.
[0059] The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including any functional
blocks labelled as "processors", may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware
as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate
software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single
dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual
processors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term "processor"
or "controller" should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of
executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, digital signal
processor (DSP) hardware, network processor, application specific integrated circuit
(ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read only memory (ROM) for storing software,
random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional
and/or custom, may also be included. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures
are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program
logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated
logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the implementer
as more specifically understood from the context.
[0060] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein
represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the
present invention. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flowcharts, flow diagrams,
state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which
may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a
computer.
[0061] It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit
the present invention and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative
embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims,
any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting
the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps
not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude
the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention can be implemented
by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements and by means of a suitably
programmed computer. In claims enumerating several means, several of these means can
be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words "first",
"second", "third", etc. does not indicate any ordering or priority. These words are
to be interpreted as names used for convenience.
[0062] In the present invention, expressions such as "comprise", "include", "have", "may
comprise", "may include", or "may have" indicate existence of corresponding features
but do not exclude existence of additional features.
[0063] Whilst the principles of the present invention have been set out above in connection
with specific embodiments, it is to be understood that this description is merely
made by way of example and not as a limitation of the scope of protection which is
determined by the appended claims.
1. Method for managing a wireless passive optical network, WPON, comprising a plurality
of access points, APs, and a plurality of customer premises equipments, CPEs, the
method comprising:
configuring an AP to CPE association based on a load balancing algorithm such that
each CPE of the plurality of CPEs is associated with at least one AP of the plurality
of APs;
configuring for each AP of the plurality of APs an AP beamforming codebook based on
the configured association, wherein the AP beamforming codebook comprises entries
wherein each entry is representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said
AP, and wherein the AP beamforming codebook comprises for each CPE associated with
the respective AP:
a line of sight, LoS, entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a LoS path between the AP and the respective CPE; and
at least one back-up entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a back-up path which is different from the LoS path.
2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one back-up entry comprises a reflection
entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective CPE via
a reflected path.
3. Method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the at least one back-up entry comprises
a relay entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective
CPE via a relay path wherein at least one CPE of the plurality of CPEs other than
the respective CPE and/or at least one AP of the plurality of APs other than the respective
AP is used as a relay.
4. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising
scanning the WPON for changes in AP and/or CPE configuration; and
triggering the configuring of the AP to CPE association when an AP is added and/or
removed from the WPON and/or when a CPE is added and/or removed from the WPON.
5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein configuring the AP to
CPE association is performed periodically.
6. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:
configuring for at least one CPE of the plurality of CPEs a CPE beamforming codebook
based on the configured association, wherein the CPE beamforming codebook comprises
entries wherein each entry is representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted
by said CPE.
7. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein configuring the AP to
CPE association comprises any one of de-associating a CPE from an AP, re-associating
a CPE to an AP, associating a CPE to an AP, or any combination thereof.
8. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein configuring the AP beamforming
codebook comprises associating with each entry for a CPE an identifier of the respective
CPE.
9. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein configuring the AP beamforming
codebook comprises configuring multiple AP codebooks per AP, wherein each AP codebook
corresponds with a subset of CPEs from the plurality of CPEs, preferably with a single
CPE from the plurality of CPEs.
10. Wireless passive optical network, WPON, managing system for managing a WPON comprising
a plurality of access points, APs, and a plurality of customer premises equipments,
CPEs, the system comprising a controller configured to:
configure an AP to CPE association based on a load balancing algorithm such that each
CPE of the plurality of CPEs is associated with at least one AP of the plurality of
APs; and
configure for each AP of the plurality of APs an AP beamforming codebook based on
the configured association, wherein the AP beamforming codebook comprises entries
wherein each entry is representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted by said
AP, and wherein the AP beamforming codebook comprises for each CPE associated with
the respective AP:
a line of sight, LoS, entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a LoS path between the AP and the respective CPE; and
at least one back-up entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to
the respective CPE via a back-up path which is different from the LoS path.
11. Managing system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one back-up entry comprises
a reflection entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted to the respective
CPE via a reflected path.
12. Managing system according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the at least one back-up
entry comprises a relay entry representative for a beam pattern to be transmitted
to the respective CPE via a relay path wherein at least one CPE of the plurality of
CPEs other than the respective CPE and/or at least one AP of the plurality of APs
other than the respective AP is used as a relay.
13. Managing system according to any one of the preceding claims 10-12, wherein the controller
is configured to:
scan the WPON for changes in AP and/or CPE configuration; and
trigger the configuring of the AP to CPE association when an AP is added and/or removed
from the WPON and/or when a CPE is added and/or removed from the WPON.
14. Managing system according to any one of the preceding claims 10-13, wherein the controller
is configured to periodically configure the AP to CPE association.
15. A computer program product comprising a computer-executable program of instructions
for performing, when executed on a computer, the steps of the method of any one of
claims 1-9.